Two new commissioners to be appointed to Data Protection Commission

Justice Minister Helen McEntee, in approving a process to recruit the two new roles, said that doing so will “support the evolving organisational structure, governance, and business needs” of the DPC. Picture: Conor Ó Mearáin

The Government is to appoint two new commissioners to the Data Protection Commission (DPC).

Justice Minister Helen McEntee, in approving a process to recruit the two new roles, said that doing so will “support the evolving organisational structure, governance, and business needs” of the DPC.

She said the DPC will be expected to undertake an internal review of governance structures and processes, as well as staffing arrangements and requirements, “in order to support the work” of the new commission.

The move will also see current sole commissioner Helen Dixon appointed as chairwoman of the commission in addition to her current duties.

The process of appointing the new commissioners is expected to take six months, the Department of Justice said.

Decision 'noted'

The DPC did not make a formal statement in reaction to the news, other than to say it “noted” the Government’s decision.

The move had been resisted by the commission itself as unlikely to make a difference in terms of speeding up the commission’s decision-making — an issue frequently espoused within the European Parliament as well as by privacy campaigners such as Austrian Max Schrems.

Mr Schrems and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) have repeatedly called for the establishment of two new commissioner roles, as legislated for within the 2018 Data Protection Act.

However, sources within the commission itself and certain data protection experts have claimed that appointing new commissioners will make no difference to the backlog of cases at the DPC, given the logjam in reality has arisen due to a need for more experts throughout the DPC’s ranks and the complexity of the legal framework under which the DPC operates.

ICCL executive director Liam Herrick welcomed Ms McEntee’s announcement, but said the council remains “deeply concerned that Government has not launched an independent review of how to strengthen and reform the DPC”.

'Totally inadequate'

Mr Herrick described the internal review requested by the minister as being “totally inadequate”.

“Without such an independent review, it will be impossible for the new commissioners to know what they need to fix,” he added.

Mr Schrems — who has been involved in legal wrangles involving both Facebook and the DPC for much of the past decade — questioned whether or not the appointment of new commissioners will “bring a serious enforcement culture to the DPC”.

Managing director with data consultancy Castlebridge Daragh O’Brien said that while he would “cautiously” welcome the news it would remain to be seen “what the commissioners will do to resolve the perception of issues within the DPC”. 

“More chefs doesn’t necessarily make things better in the kitchen,” he said, adding his worry that “additional commissioners may become a form of political leverage over the independence of the commission”.